Charlemagne may be regarded as the chief regenerator of Western
Europe after the dissolution of the Roman Empire. At the date of his
coronation, 800 A.D., his empire was not inferior in extent to that
of the old Roman Empire. He was master of all Germany and Gaul, the
greater part of Italy, and part of Spain. Under him the Frankish
dominion reached its highest point, and marks the formal termination
of an antiquated state of society. It was also the introduction to
another totally different form itself and from its predecessor. It
was not barbarism, it was not feudalism; but it was the bridge which
united the two.
The most important chapter in the history of the Middle Ages is that
informing us how the ruins of the dilapidated Western Empire were for a
time rebuilt into an imposing structure by the genius of a great man,
the grandest figure of the Middle Ages,--Charlemagne. The real name of
this great man was Karl, that is, Charles. Though best known by his
French name of Charlemagne (Charles the Great), we must remember that he
was not a Frenchman in our sense of the term, but a thorough Teuton, or
German, in birth, instinct, speech, and residence.